MyStrengths, a Strengths-Focused Mobile Health Tool: Participatory Design and Development

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Chronic Illness Management
• Psychology

Background:

• Growing population of individuals with chronic illnesses requires comprehensive self-management support.
• Current care models emphasize problem-solving but often overlook personal strengths.
• Leveraging personal strengths can enhance daily life for those with chronic conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the design and development of the MyStrengths mobile health (mHealth) application.
• To guide users with chronic conditions in identifying and applying personal strengths.
• To detail the 4-phase iterative process involving users and researchers.

Main Methods:

• Multi-stakeholder idea-generating workshops (N=35).
• Expert seminars (N=6) on app concept and design.
• Co-design workshops (N=22) for engaging app features.
• Iterative user evaluations (N=13) of app prototypes.

Main Results:

• Identified diverse stakeholder needs for strengths-focused mHealth apps.
• Highlighted a research gap in personal strengths for chronic illness populations.
• Generated creative, gameful design ideas for the MyStrengths app.
• Developed a final prototype through iterative user testing.

Conclusions:

• Strengths-focused mHealth tools are valuable for chronic illness self-management.
• Limited guidance exists on designing such mHealth tools and content.
• User feedback indicates strong support and perceived value for strengths-based apps.
• A mixed-methods approach integrating user, researcher, and designer input is effective for developing supportive mHealth tools.